Fireplace appliance



Jan. 13, 1959 G. A. WATROUS FIREPLACE APPLIANCE 3 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed May 3, 1954 I mm.

G. A. WATROUS FIREPLACE APPLIANCE Jan. 12., 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 3, 1954 INVENTOR. I GdberZZZ Wazmmg BY 3 FIREPLACE APPLIANCE Gilbert A. Watrous, San Diego, Calif., assignor to Brazit Associates, San Diego, Calif., a partnership Application May 3, 1954, Serial No. 427,249

1 Claim. (Cl. 126-25) This invention relates to fireplace appliances, and is especially concerned with those which can be used either indoors or out-of-doors for cooking foods.

The invention is directed to a simplified apparatus of the kind described which is of sturdy construction, ineX- pensive to build and maintain, and which presents an ornamental and decorative appearance when used upon a hearth; especially in the living quarters of a household.

In addition to providing means whereby meats can be grilledand broiled, the present invention is intended to provide in its organization certain elemental parts which can'be used withoutthe cooking accessories as andirons for supporting logs, or as a brazier in-which live coals may be maintained, for general heating purposes.

In the drawings- Figure l is a perspective view of a preferred form of the invention;

Figure 2 is amidsectional elevational View taken along line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view corresponding to Figure 2, illustrating a modification of the invention;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line 44 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a'front elevational view of a modified form of the invention, shown with parts broken away partly in section;

Figure 6 is a sectional elevationtaken along line66 Figure- 8- is a perspective view of a further modified embodiment of the invention which is adapted to be knockeddown for packaging, and which has removable legextensionsfor elevating theassembly for use out-of doors;

Figures 9 and 10 are fragmentary transverse sectional views of thedevice of FigureS, illustrating the pivoting.

of the gridiron and thedetachabilityof the leg extensions; and

Figure 11 is a modified plan view of the andiron assembly shown in Figure: 8.-

Referring now'more. particularly tothe drawings, in which like characters of reference identify like parts throughout, in the form-shoWn-in Figures 1 and 2, the invention is comprised "of a pairof andiron elements 10 and 12, made, for example, from-black iron bar stock, whi'chhave horizontally extending -structurals 14=and 16 definingbedmembers; These latter are supported upon pedestal meanscomprising front and rear legs 18-and 20, respectively; The horizontal bedmembers 14 and 16*are connected laterally by one ormore structural members 22"-which"extend horizontally between the bed'members, towhich they may be permanently attached, as by welding, but to which..they are preferably bolted by means of bolts 24 which extend" through the bed members into threaded apertures. in. the ends. of: thezstructural. members inprderIthatthepartsmay beatakenl apart for storage or crating;

United States Patent 9 2,868,189 Patented Jan. 13, 1959 Thexandir'onsht theirfront portions are provided with upstanding inferior posts 26 and 28, Which'may be--used to'retain logs-whenthe andirons are used alone for this purpose. Attheirrear'portions the andirons are provided"with' upstandin'gsuperior posts 30 and 32 which rise' to asubstantialheigh't above the bed members for the purpose of 'supportinga gridiron in overlyingrelation to the latter. To accomplish this purpose, there is shown in Figures 1 and 2, a plurality of perforations 34 extending through theposts in aforward torearward direction in substantially horizontal planes that occur at equally spaced levels above the bed members.

A gridiron-36' is comprised of, a substantially rectangularfr'ame 38, to which is attached a grid 40 upon which objects to'becooked may be supported. Handles 42 may be applied to opposite endsof the frames for convenience in handling. The gridiron is provided with projections 44 which extendperpendicularly in the horizontal from one of the majornrarginaledges 56 of the frame 38. These projections may bewelded to the marginal edges of the frame as in'Figures land 2, or may comprise projections of supporting members 46,46 (Figures 3iand 6), which are adapted'toextend. beneath the. grid from one side of the frametQtheJOpposite side thereof, beyond which. they project in the. mannerindicated. The projections 44 are adapted to seatin theperforations 34 in the vertical posts 30and 32 so as tocantilever the gridiron inhorizontal relation over the bed members of the andirons, upon which logs or 'othersuitablefuel may be predisposed.

In order to. adapt the appliance. for the grilling of steaks, and the like, it is desirable to provide a brazier or tray element 48 upon the bed members ofthe andirons, which is preferably of. burnished. sheet. copper. The

brazier is containedon thebed between the superior posts.

30, 32 and the inferior posts 28, to which it conforms. In order to prevent fire damage to the metal of. the brazier, itiseontemplated. that a layer of sand 50 be disposed therein to' support the charcoal or other fuel which may be employed.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the gridiron overlies the brazier andfmaybe raised and lowered with respect thereto by disposing the projections 44 of the gridiron into opposed apertures 34 at the selected level.

. In Figure 3, .the superior posts 30 and 32 are impel"? forate, and the ends of thetsupporting members 46, corre-.

spondingto the projections 44 in the first two figures, are.

modified to the extent that they are formed obliquely up: wardly, as at 52 in Figure 3, in parallel verticalplanes, and are then .formed ,to. bring their terminal portions 54". into parallelism with the proximate side 56 of the frame 38; By thisarrangement, the cantilever suspension. is achieved by the hooked'ends54 engaging the rear of the .postsfitliand 32, respectively, relative to which (and. the members 46) the side.56' of the. frame 38 acts as-a fulcrum upon the front side. of the posts,v as appearsin Figures 3 and 4;

To adjustthe elevation. of the. gridiron in this modifie cation,itis only necessary to lift the front of the frame and to slide it upon down the posts until the desired.

In Figures Sto 7, a further modification is disclosed,

wherein the andiron elements 60 and 62 are not connected by structural members similar to the elements 22' in the preceding'figures, but reliance is had upon the brazier. 485 forthis purpose- The greater the.

Thev rear marginal edge of the .brazier is projected horizontally into a. major flange.

. v g. 64 having apertures 66 and 68 therein spaced an appropriate distance apart to receive the superior posts 30 and 32, respectively. This forms a structural tie between the latter at the rear of the assembly. Then, at any convenient location, through the bottom of the tray 48', bolt holes are provided which" register with threaded recesses in the bed members 14' and 16 of the andirons, through which bolts 70 are disposed structurally to tie the elements together into a unitary rigid assembly. In this embodiment, since the brazier is bolted to the andirons, the inferior front posts 28 may be omitted.

Further modifications include forwardly and rearwardly extending horizontal slots 34 that are cut in the sides of the superior posts 30 and 32 in opposed relation and at corresponding elevations, as is shown in Figures and 6. The gridiron is provided with two pairs of tangs 72, which are adapted to slide within and be retained by the grooves 34' in the respective posts, in straddling relation to the latter, as best appears in Figures 6 and 7. The same cantilever retention is thus provided for the gridiron, which may be disposed at the elevation of the selected grooves in overlying relation to the brazier. The tangs 72 may be formed by extension of the structurals 46' beneath the grid, or may be stub projections welded to the frame 38 as in the case of Figures 1 and 2.

In Figures 8 to a knockdown modification of the invention is shown. Here the andiron assembly is composed essentially of four parts: the longitudinal bed elements 80 and 82, which have downwardly depending short legs 84 and 86 dependent therefrom, and upstanding studs or pins 88 and 90 adjacent the ends of the bed elements, which are adapted to engage the transversely extending supports 92 and 94 in'detachable relation. The transverse supports 92 and 94 are formed at their front ends with upstanding inferior posts 96 and 98, and at their rear ends with upstanding superior posts 100 and 102, which, as in previous embodiments, may be provided with downwardly extending slots 104 from their rear edge, or corresponding holes extending laterally therethrough to accommodate the gridiron hangers 106 and 108. In this embodiment the gridiron hangers are rigidly secured in struckout portions 110 in the frame 112 of the gridiron 36, or may be welded thereto. In any case, they are offset rearwardly and upwardly at an angle of approximately 45 to the horizontal plane of the gridiron and then turned 90 in the same direction, so that the gridiron may be attached to the superior posts by being positioned horizontally against these latter and moved sideways a distance sufficient to engage the offset portions of the hangers in the slots or holes 104, as the case may be.

'As will be seen in Figure 9, this arrangement provides for the cantilever support of the gridiron in a manner previously described, and in addition permits a hinging action around the axis of the offset portions of the hangers to allow the gridiron to be elevated and inclined against the-superior posts, as is represented by the broken lines 36 in Figure 9. As thus raised, the gridiron is out of the way to permit servicing of the fire contained in the brazier 48 or upon the andiron supports, and may be kept in this position or again lowered for use in cooking.

As will be seen in Figure 11, the legs 84 and 86 of the andirons are not only formed downwardly in the vertical from the bed members 80 and 82, respectively, but are also splayed obliquely outwardly so that the axes of the several legs, if projected upwardly, would converge as the corners of a pyramid at a point above and substantially in the geometric center of the assembly. While this affords resistance to tipping in ordinary usage, it is even more essential for the attachment of the elevating legs 114 thereto, which might embrace any suitable form, but which in the illustrated embodiment comprise angle irons, to the top of which a segment of angle iron 116 is welded to provide an enclosed hollow box section which is adapted to slip over the legs. 84. and 86 in tight frictional engagement therewith, so that the assembly is securely and rigidly held in elevated position with the leg extensions widely spread to give maximum stability to the structure. This adaptation is especially convenient for picnics and other outdoor uses for the appliance.

As depicted in Figure 10, the transverse members 92 and 94 may be notched as at 120 half-way through their thickness, so as to register with corresponding notches (not shown) in the underlying bed elements and 82, in which case the pins 88 and 98 may optionally be omitted.

These modifications are so constructed that the leg extensions 114 may be removed and the transverse supports 92 and 94 may he quickly separated from the bed elements 88 and 82to permit these latter to be nested and stacked in as small a space as possible. The handles 122 on the gridiron may be rigidly disposed at an angle to the plane of the gridiron so as to permit the leg extensions 114 to be slid therethrough and held therein for packaging and storage purposes. The andiron elements Collapsed as above may be stored in the copper brazier 48, and the gridiron may either be small enough to fit therein as a closure therefor, or may be secured to over.- lie the latter to the same purpose.

It is contemplated that any suitable construction of gridiron can be employed so long as these basic relationships are maintained, and that modifications may be made to the andiron construction as well, without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claim, the foregoing description being by way of example only.

I claim:

A fireplace appliance for cooking food both in and out of doors, comprising a pair of spaced parallel, horizontal bar members turned down at both of their ends, respectively, to define legs for supporting said bar members in spaced relation from a supporting surface, a pair of horizontal parallel cross bars bridging between said horizontal bar members in spaced relation adjacent the legs thereof, and being detachably secured thereto to define a rectangular frame, said cross bars adjacent the same horizontal bar member being turned upwardly, respectively, to define superior vertical posts at one side of said frame, said cross bars at their opposite ends, respectively, being turned upwardly to define vertical posts of a height inferior to said superior posts at their opposite ends but cooperative with the latter to confine logs, fuel, and brazier means between them upon said rectangular frame; and a gridiron comprised of a rectangular support, a grid associated with said support, and post-engaging means at a side thereof, said gridiron being cantilevered upon said superior posts by said post-engaging means to project in spaced, parallel, overlying relation to said rectangular frame, said gridiron being adjustable with respect to said superior posts to alter the spacing between it and said rectangular frame.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 138,885 Hall May 13, 1873 416,068 Muller Nov. 26, 1889 692,718 Seat Feb. 4, 1902 746,539 Low Dec. 8, 1903 907,501 Jarrett Dec. 22, 1908 1,450,802 Frye Apr. 3, 1923 2,447,938 Garfunkle Aug. 24, 1948 2,515,521 Lotfredo July 18, 1950 2,541,528 McAvoy Feb. 13, 1951 2,682,831 Pellegrin July 6, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 6,811 Great Britain of 1910 364,842 GreatBritain Jan. 14, 1932. 567,564 Great Britain Feb. 20, 1 945 

